


Our Parents Did What?

by PrincessBedhead



Series: Kids, Meet the Autobots [1]
Category: Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate season one RID15, Deadly situations, Discovering Parent's pasts, Familial Relationships, Gen, Kidnapping, Multi, Next Generation meets RID15, Romance not the main focus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-18 14:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11292798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessBedhead/pseuds/PrincessBedhead
Summary: Bebe and Raquel Esquivel never knew their dad was so different. Sure, he had his quirks, and sometimes he would wake them up at night screaming, but that was just dad. After a strange signal comes from his old laptop, he goes missing, along with two of his friends, their Aunt Miko and Uncle Jack. Left to take care of themselves and the Darby kids, they set out on a journey to find their parents, finding out a lot more about their family's pasts than they ever could have imagined. Reunited with their dad's old friend, they must race to save their family...and quite possibly the world.





	1. The Signal

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say, I like next gen stuff. If you enjoy it, kudos and comments are appreciated greatly. If not, thanks for giving it a try anyways.

Quartzton was a small town in the middle of nowhere. There was one gas station, four chain restaurants, two mom and pop places, a grocery store, and one school that served the students of town K-12. Everybody knew their neighbor’s name, and nobody could get away with much for very long before the whole town knew about it. Secrets were impressive if they could be kept for more than a few months.  
It reminded Raf of Jasper. Part of him wondered if that was better or worse for him to choose this place to live. But this was the place where he found himself, opening windows at night to soothe the nightmares with the sounds of the desert and driving out into the sand every so often to just look around. Miko called him a nostalgic, Jack helped him move in, and both of them came back every so often, ready to reminisce and support each other.  
A year after graduating college at age 20, he left the group at Unit E, retiring from the military life and relaxing into the private sector. His cybersecurity programming gave him a good start, allowing him a reasonably sized company within three years. Quartzton was a good place, good for him and good for his girls.  
His sister Marisol had gotten pregnant a year or so after he first moved out, giving birth to twin girls. She had died due to complications during the birth, and with the father out of the picture, the family had a choice to make. They could either take the babies, or they could go into the system. Pillar, Julio, and Nico all had families of their own. His mother and father were too old to be caring for young children again. Raf had stepped up, taking Bebe and Raquel into his home, officially adopting them a year later.  
Jack and Miko had gotten married a year after he left, moving to the suburbs and commuting to work with the unit every day. It was only an hour’s drive to their home now, and they visited frequently with their own kids, Maggie, Orion, and Rin.  
All in all, he appreciated the life that he had been given. He had a good business, his daughters were healthy, and he was able to move past the negative after effects of the Cybertronian influence to his life. Rafael Esquivel was in a good spot.  
He still kept his laptop searching for signals though. Just in case.  
\---  
“Dad, we’re home!” Bebe called, slipping her shoes off by the front door and dropping her backpack into it’s normal spot. Raquel followed suit, stopping to say hello to their cat Omega. “Dad?”  
“In here!” their father called back from the kitchen. Bebe followed the sound of his voice to find him pulling out the ingredients for a lasagna. “Can you get the noodles off the heat? I want to get this in the oven before the Darby’s get here but this lid is giving me trouble.”  
“Sure thing,” the fifteen year old nodded, grabbing the pot and moving it to another spot on the stove. “What time will they be here?”  
“Four o’clock, we’ll have time to catch up a bit before I head out with Jack and Miko. You sure you two can handle all three of them tonight?”  
“Come on Dad, it’s not like they’re a group of toddlers,” Raquel interjected as she came into the room. She tossed her hair back and grinned, placing her hands on her hips. “Maggie is only a year younger than us, and she’s the biggest troublemaker of the group. We’ll be fine.”  
“I know,” Raf said with a small smile. “But I worry. It’s my job.”  
Bebe leaned against the counter and examined her dad as he got to work constructing their dinner for the night. He was gangly and thin, not unlike her Uncle Jack, but with less defined muscles. His hair always stuck out at odd angles, and no matter how often Raquel tried to convince him he refused to give up the boxy red glasses that he had worn since he was a child.  
Her sister was telling him about school that day, chattering about the test they had both aced and the food they’d had for lunch. He turned to ask Bebe a question when an odd sound rang through the air. It sounded like an old modem almost, though their dad seemed to be listening intently; almost as if it were saying something to him.  
“Raquel, finish this please, I need to check something,” he said, dropping the noodle he had just pulled from the water into the pan. Before either of them could respond, he was headed for his office at the back of the house.  
“Dad?” Bebe asked, following him. He was sitting at his desk, the old laptop he kept around pulled from it’s usual spot on the windowsill. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”  
“Nothing’s wrong, just a work thing,” the man assured her. Bebe narrowed her eyes as he fixed his glasses, a tell she had learned meant he wasn’t being honest. “I need to call Jack, can you go make sure Omega’s got food?”  
“Sure…” she nodded, leaving the doorway. She hurried to the bathroom and checked, then hurried back to wait outside his door, listening.  
“No, I promise, it’s not a glitch…yes, I recognize the signal. It’s a groundbridge, but…no, Jack, you don’t get it. It’s like the one that got us trapped…yeah. I think it might be. Have you left yet? …Yes, I think we need to change the plans. We can investigate and be back by tomorrow afternoon…No, I don’t think we need to call your mom, Bebe and Raquel can handle holding down the house until we get back. They’re on vacation Jack, she and Fowler will be fine. He can’t get to them. Okay. Okay, I’ll see you when you get here. Bye.”  
Bebe scrambled away as he finished the call, going to clicking away on his laptop. She headed back for the kitchen, mind racing as she tried to figure out the meaning of what she had overheard. Something was wrong, and it involved her dad and his two best friends. She knew there were some things he would keep from them, but this seemed to be too much; if they were all that worried, she thought she had a right to know what was going on.  
“Everything okay?” Raquel asked, looking over at her. Bebe glanced up and nodded, going to grab the jar of sauce and add it to the layer she was working on.  
“Yeah, he says it’s just a work thing,” she said. She couldn’t tell her sister about her worries just yet, not where their dad could hear that she knew.  
\---  
“Be good for Bebe and Raquel,” Jack instructed, hugging his children. Bebe hugged her dad as well, then accepted the squeeze from Miko. “We’ll be back after you fall asleep, so we’ll see you in the morning.”  
“Love you Dad,” Orion said softly.  
“Don’t burn down the house without me!” Miko chirped at them as the three adults headed out the door. Bebe waved to them before locking the entrance and turning to the others. Maggie had grabbed Omega and hoisted him up for a hug; he seemed a little put out by that, but he was an old cat who didn’t like the smell of their own pets. The Darby’s had two cats, Wheeljack and Ding-Dong, and a dog, Bulkhead. Orion was now rummaging through his backpack for his sketchpad, and Rin was eagerly pulling on Raquel’s arm to urge her into the living room. They had a standing challenge in video games that must be met before they could do anything else tonight.  
“So how’s school going?” she asked Maggie and Orion as they followed the two.  
“Boring, as usual,” Maggie grinned. She grabbed a third controller from the console as Rin booted it up. Orion sat with Bebe on the couch.  
“I won the school’s spelling bee,” Orion told her quietly. “I get to go to the county one next month.”  
“That sounds like fun, good job!” Bebe praised. She liked Orion, he was a good kid. The ten year-old was a lot more shy than his siblings, but he had good ideas. She glanced at the clock, frowning. At this rate, she would have to wait until Rin and Orion went to bed before she could even consider telling Raquel about what she had overhead. “Hey, I’m gonna go check on a download I need for homework this weekend, save my seat?”  
“No promises,” the younger grinned as Omega immediately jumped into the vacated spot. He scratched the cat’s ears and grinned at his purring. Bebe laughed and hurried down the hallway.  
The office was dark, the sun on the other side of the house and the lights off. She flipped on the lights and frowned when she saw that her dad had taken the laptop with him. Still, he kept everything backed up on a spare drive; she just had to find it. She checked the drawer with the other drives first, carefully going over the labels for work, personal, work, work…there was something under the drives. She flicked the bottom of the drawer and realized that it was hollow. There was a small gap in the surface, and she hooked a finger in to pull it open. Underneath, there was a file of papers, labeled “Cybertron.” She pulled it out and opened it, eyes widening at the symbols covering the pages. She had never seen anything like it, and couldn’t read it, but it still looked important. She flipped through the pages a bit before a highlighted line caught her eye. A few numbers were highlighted, ten numbers that looked like a phone number. She jumped as the timer in the kitchen went off, heralding the ending of their dinner’s cooking time. Quickly, the teenager pulled out her phone and took a picture of the numbers to examine later. She stuffed the file back into the drawer and hurried to get the lasagna out before it burned.

\---  
"Jack get down!" Raf shouted. Miko leapt at her husband and tackled him to the ground just before the taser's line hit his chest. They rolled with the impact and jumped back to their feet, military training screaming at them. Raf struggled to get away from the tentacle holding him off the ground, but Soundwave had a tight grip on him.  
The alert of crossed groundbridge streams had taken them to an old warehouse five hours away by Miko's driving. There, they had been surprised to find the remnants of MECH, the one group they never hoped to see again. They had managed to recreate a groundbridge, and the sinking feeling that had started in Raf's gut that afternoon only went lower, as Soundwave escaped from the Shadowzone. It seemed that the two enemies of their past had come together, and now he was watching as his two friends were being driven into a corner. This was bad.  
He managed to pull out his cell phone and hit the button for the speed dial he had never thought he would use again. Dragging it up to his ear, he bit back a curse when he got the sound of a jammed phone; apparently Soundwave, or MECH, or both, had thought of that. Even as a long-shot, they still covered every possibility. They were trapped without an out.  
The tentacle suddenly loosened, dropping him down from the lofty position and onto the floor. He tried to position himself to roll, but he still screamed as both legs let out sickening cracks. He dropped to the floor in pain, and the last thing he could think of before he blacked out was to wonder what would happen to their children.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bee Team joins the party, and Bebe shares her worries with Raquel.

The alarm in the junkyard startled the occupants just settling down for the night. Denny was woken from his overtired daze, coffee spilling as the hand holding his mug jerked reflexively. Windblade was in position to attack almost instantly, and Strongarm was on her feet in that same instant, blaster drawn and ready. Next to her, Sideswipe grabbed Russel on instinct, pulling him close. Jetstorm and Slipstream ran to Drift, who stood up from his meditation, and Grimlock stomped out from his punching corner. 

"Fixit, what's going on?" Bumblebee asked, staring at the minicon. The little orange Autobot stumbled up the ramp and hurriedly typed in commands, pulling up screens of data.

"Decepticon energy signal just came inline-supine-online!" he reported. "Database recognizes it as Commander Soundwave and his minicon Laserbeak."

"Soundwave?" Bumblebee repeated, taken aback. "But he was trapped in the Shadowzone years ago!"

"His signal just came online, just under 1,500 Earth miles away," the minicon reported.

"Who's Soundwave?" Russel asked, coming over with the others. Bumblebee turned to the gathering team and sighed. 

"Megatron's most trusted lieutenant during the war," he explained. "Possibly one of the most dangerous Cybertronians to ever live. If he's out, we may be in serious trouble."

"Well then what're we waiting for?!" Sideswipe asked with a grin. "Let's not give him a chance to readjust, let's go get him now!" 

"It's not that easy Sideswipe," Strongarm frowned. "The records say that the only Cybertronian to beat Soundwave was Megatron himself."

"And he was only trapped by a group of humans tricking him," Bumblebee added. 

"Humans?" Russel asked, eyes wide. Bumblebee nodded and rubbed at his optics.    
"I'll explain more later. Fixit, is Soundwave moving?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then everyone get some rest. I'll figure out a plan and we'll track him down tomorrow, if he stays on planet. He may decide to leave and find Megatron first..."   
The group around him exchanged worried glances as he trailed off. He was already twitching with stress.    


* * *

"Bebe, I think I grabbed the wrong backpack," Rin said, tugging on her shirt. 

"Wrong backpack? What do you mean?"  He held up his backpack, a dark blue canvas background with the words "Slash Monkey" written in Aunt Miko's bombastic style. 

"Mom and I have matching backpacks, and I grabbed this one out of the trunk but it doesn't got my pjs or Smokey," he explained. "It's got weird stuff in it."

"Let's take a look," Raquel decided, grabbing the bag and dumping it onto the table. Some sort of metal plate dropped out, along with a couple of futuristic looking guns, and some night goggles. "What the heck is this stuff?"

"Looks like spy gear. Were they on a spy mission?!" Maggie grinned. Bebe gave her a smile, hoping it looked more convincing than she felt.

"Probably just some test stuff from work, you know how Aunt Miko likes to bring it home. Don't touch it." She gathered it up, hesitant to touch the plate as she recognized the symbols on it as the same ones from the file. "You can borrow some shorts and a shirt from me to sleep in Rin, and I'll see if Knocks and Breaks are still in the laundry room."

"Come on you two, time to brush your teeth!" Raquel grinned, raising a fist as if leading a battle. Rin cheered and fell in step, followed by Orion. Bebe took the bag and placed it by the front door, thinking. 

"Hey Bebe, what movie should we watch?" Maggie called from the family room. Bebe jumped and looked at the bag one last time before turning to go and find the stuffed toys for the boy. 

"How about The Princess Bride?"

A few hours later, after the movie was done, Bebe looked over at Raquel, deciding now was as good a time as any to tell her about what she knew.  "Ray, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked, getting up from the couch. Maggie had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, leaving the two of them relatively alone. 

"Sure thing, what's wrong Bee?" 

"I think something is up with Dad."  Raquel looked surprised for a moment before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the kitchen. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, voice low. Bebe shrugged and glanced around before crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I don't know. But he was acting weird after that sound earlier, and I heard him talking to Uncle Jack...something about someone getting out, and signals, and something called  a groundbridge... He sounded worried. He said they'd investigate tonight. And when I went to see what he was doing earlier I found a file in a hidden drawer in his desk."

"Like a spy drawer?"

"Exactly. The papers were covered in some weird symbols, and the only thing I could read was a phone number. And that plate from Aunt Miko's bag, it had the same symbols."

"Did you call it?" Raquel asked. She seemed to understand just how worried Bebe was by this, her face drew into a matching concerned frown. "Are they in danger? Are we?" 

"I don't know. I don't want to call unless something happens, but I don't know what would count..."

"We'll keep an eye out then," her twin decided. She wrapped an arm around her and squeezed, pressing her forehead to her temple like they did for comfort as kids. "But for now, let's just say Dad's being weird again. Okay? We don't want to worry the kids."

"Thanks Ray," Bebe agreed. She turned and pressed her forehead into her sister's for a moment before pulling back and turning to go back into the other room. "Let's get Maggie to a proper bed and go sleep ourselves."   


* * *

"Bee?" 

Bumblebee turned to see Russel standing behind him. He twisted fully around and offered a hand to the boy, depositing him on one of the large shelving units. 

"What are you still doing up Russel, it's way too late for you," he admonished softly. Russel crossed his legs and stared up at him. 

"You worked with humans before? Why didn't you go back to them when you came here?" He stared at the Autobot with wide blue eyes. 

"I didn't know if they would want to see me," Bee admitted, doorwings drooping. "They went through some horrible stuff during the war, and so much time has passed...they're old enough to have families now, I couldn't risk putting them in danger again." 

"...What were they like?" Russel asked. Bee looked over to see him smiling softly. "They must have loved you."

"They were great." He turned and looked up at the stars. "There were five of them, Fowler, June, Jack, Miko, and Raf. Fowler was our liaison to your government.   
"Jack and Raf saw me one day, along with two other members of Team Prime; you would have liked Arcee and Bulkhead. The next day Miko saw Arcee too, and they all had to come with us for protection. Then June found out, Jack's mom. They helped us a lot..."

"You miss them." Russel stood up and jumped to Bee's shoulder, sitting against the side of his face. "I can tell."

"Especially Raf," Bee agreed. "He was practically my brother. Back then I couldn't speak due to a war injury, but Raf...he always knew what I meant."

"And this Soundwave guy could be going after them?"

"I don't know what Soundwave is going to do at all," he admitted. "It may be he decides to find Megatron, or go back to Cybertron...but if he tries to go after anyone, we'll stop him."

"You'll kick him right back wherever he escaped from," Russel agreed with a tired yawn. Bee smiled and gently lifted him down. 

"That's enough story time for tonight buddy. Go sleep some more."

"'Night Bee," Russel murmured as he stumbled away. Bee watched him with a soft smile before turning his attention inwards. 

The number still sat there, ready to call. It would be so easy to try and reach him, warn him about the possible danger he could be in. But if he wasn't in danger yet, he didn't want to risk it. Bee hesitated for a moment longer before transforming and going to his usual spot to recharge. He'd need the rest tomorrow too.

* * *

Bumblebee waited until everyone was gathered before he started laying out the details of his plan. 

"I'll go ahead of the group and scout," he instructed, looking around the group. "His signal is coming from a compound surrounded by fencing; Drift you'll stay on the main entrance with Jetstorm and Slipstream. Strongarm, I need you on the back. Grim, Sideswipe, you two cover east and west sides. Windblade, you stay in the air.

"If he tries to fly away, your job is to slow him down if you can, but do not risk your life. If he deploys Laserbeak, disengage. He could also leave by groundbridge. Everyone, we watch each other's backs and keep our guards up. Understand?" They all nodded and he straightened up. "Let's get going then, we have a lot of ground to cover." He strode out of the hidden area of the junkyard, transforming in the low light and heading for the entrance. 

"Bee not giving a bad battle cry? This is serious!" Sideswipe remarked. 

"Sideswipe!" Strongarm scolded. She hooked up to Grimlock's trailer, following Drift out of the junkyard. Sideswipe tried to get sympathy from Windblade, but she only launched into the air to follow. He made an exasperated sound before taking up the rear of the group. 

"Sir, forgive me for overstepping my bounds but...what do we do if Soundwave wants to fight?" Bumblebee sighed as Strongarm contacted him on the comms. 

"We cut and run. And I'm being serious about that." He paused and opened the communication to everyone on the team. "If I say retreat, you all have to retreat. No matter what. Understand?" He waited for the affirmative from the group before falling silent again and upping their speed. 

The drive took them all day, pushing hard. They came upon the compound as it was getting dark, lights starting to flood the area. Bumblebee pulled the group up short, just a few hundred yards away from the front entrance. 

“How are you going to get in there to scout Bee? That place is way bright!” 

“I have my ways Grimlock, I was a scout for a long time.” He looked down at his plating and activated the coding that he hadn’t used since the end of the war. His color nanites changed and shifted, reversing the black and yellow on his frame. “Alright, everyone get into position. I’ll go with Strongarm and move in ten minutes from now, understand?”

“Yeah yeah we get it, let’s get a move on with this party!” Sideswipe grinned. Drift elbowed him and nodded to Bee, turning to go get into position. As the team split up, Bumblebee had to hope that he hadn’t just led them all into slaughter. 

“Lieutenant?” Strongarm asked. Bumblebee turned to look at her and forced a small smile. 

“Let’s get going Strongarm. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

* * *

Raf grimaced as he pulled his legs into a more comfortable position, biting back the urge to scream. Jack looked over at him with a frown, moving to sit next to him. 

“How’re you holding up?” he asked, staring at the field dressing on his legs. Raf shrugged and looked around the room they were being held in. “How long do you think the kids will wait before calling someone?”

“As soon as we don’t come back,” Miko provided, sitting on Jack’s other side. “I sent Bebe an email when I realized I had the wrong bag. I told her to call Fowler and tell him that the Shadowzone was opened. He’ll understand, and he and June will get the kids somewhere safe.” 

“I can’t help but feel like I should have told the girls about this,” Raf sighed. “I should have let them know what was going on, so I could tell them just how much I love them. The thought of not seeing them again...I wish I could explain it to them…” 

“Don’t talk like that, we’ll get out of this,” Jack said. He reached over and grabbed Raf’s arm in a comforting squeeze. “We will get out of this, just like we got out of all the other scrapes before. We know Soundwave. We know MECH. And if he’s out, that means that there’s Cybertronian tech here on Earth, which means Cybertronians.”

“I’ll bet you anything Bulkhead comes busting in here to find us!” Miko agreed, taking Jack’s other hand and lacing their fingers together. “He and Wheeljack will take them all down, and who knows? Maybe Bee came back to visit too!” 

Raf snorted and turned to look at his friends, smiling slightly. “Bee’s probably leading some sort of deep space mission. My money’s on Smokescreen.” 

“I’ll take first watch, you two get some sleep,” Jack decided. “I’ll wake you up in two hours Raf?”

“Just like old times,” Raf agreed. He leaned into the corner and shut his eyes, hearing as Miko and Jack murmured to each other for a few minutes longer. His mind drifted to his daughters, they were probably worrying by now and trying to reach his phone. He hoped they were okay.


	3. Chapter 3

“Sir, we’ve managed to track down the former Agent Folwer, they’re in Scotland. Should we move in now?”

“No, keep an eye on them. What’s the status on the interception?”

“Ready to go, sir. If the children call, we’ll have their location and can pick them up.”

Bumblebee paused in his sneaking around a door, hearing two people talking on the other side. They were hanging around the inside of the hallway, he could see the light of one of them smoking a cigarette. Cautiously, he crept closer.

“What are we going to do with the parents? They’re all trained agents, they could pose a threat.”

“Not once we have their kids, they’ll cooperate. Not to mention that Soundwave fellow, he can control them easily.”

“That was just downright scary during the fight, he picked up the skinny one like he was nothing. I heard them all talking, they’re hoping for rescue from the ones they fought with.”

“Even if they come, it’ll be too late. Our plans are already in motion, now we just have to pull the strings to unravel it all.”

His optics narrowed, they knew where Fowler was? They were going after kids? That the parents were involved, he didn’t like the implications of that.

“Sir, we’ve got the coordinates ready,” a new voice joined in. The cigarette was put out under a heel and all three retreated into the building. Bee was about to continue on when he heard the sound of Laserbeak flying overhead. He pushed back against the wall, holding as still as he could. If he was discovered he would be scrap.

The minicon hovered in the area, and he was sure that he had been caught. Still, he waited, sending a ready ping to the others in case they needed to run; he could send the transmission quickly, they just had to be ready.

The sound of a groundbridge somewhere in the building was the first sign that he was wrong. They were moving out now apparently.

“Hey get off me you creep! I can walk myself!”

That was the second warning. He couldn’t be sure, the voice was older, but that sounded like Miko. He reacted quickly, going to push open the garage bay next to the door, only to be shoved aside by Laserbeak running into his shoulder. The minicon zipped through the door and into the warehouse.

Bumblebee got up and yanked the door open. His optics adjusted quickly once he turned on his headlights, and he hurried to catch up. The glow of the groundbridge led him to a large main room where the last of a group in MECH uniforms were disappearing through. Standing over them was Soundwave, just reattaching Laserbeak to her docking position. He looked up, and Bumblebee had to fight off a shiver even as he ran to grab the Decepticon. A picture flashed on his screen, the one of Jack, Miko, and Raf at the SETI farm. A large red X superimposed itself over them, before a tentacle lashed out and grabbed him. Bumblebee was sent flying into the wall of the warehouse, stunned for a moment. Soundwave was looming over him dangerously, and he braced himself for deactivation-

“Soundwave, we have to go! The groundbridge won’t stay open much longer!”

There was another human? Bumblebee managed to look up, there was a young woman in a sweater and jeans staring at them. Soundwave paused and looked to her before nodding. He bent down, gently picking her up in one hand, and moved through the groundbridge with the deadly grace he was known for.

Bumblebee grunted and pushed himself up to his feet as the groundbridge closed. They were too late, and there was no sign of where they were going.

“You can all come in now, they got away. And this is worse than we thought.”

“Are you okay Bumblebee?” Grimlock asked.

“I’m fine Grim. But we’ve got a real problem on our hands.”

* * *

Bebe bit her lip, watching the clock from where she sat on the couch. Their parents hadn't returned yet and she was starting to worry. More importantly, Orion and Rin were starting to question why they weren't back yet.

“I haven't heard from any of them in a while, do you think they could be in some sort of trouble?” Maggie asked, dropping into the spot next to her. She curled her knees up under her chin and looked up at her. “I tried calling them but it went straight to voicemail.”

“I'll bet they're just having fun,” Raquel said, glancing over from where she was watching Orion and Rin do their homework. “They’ll be back tonight, I just know it.” Her eyes met Bebe’s, and they nodded at each other.

“How does pizza sound for dinner, I’ve got a coupon for a free order of breadsticks,” Bebe suggested. The consensus was positive all around, so she went to go log onto the website.

Stepping into the office was weird. Knowing that her dad used this equipment for something dangerous was odd, it made her feel like she was doing something bad. But her laptop was in here, so she had to sit at the desk to use it.

She logged on and ordered the pizza online; it would get there in forty-five minutes. The code was accepted to give her the free breadsticks, and the order was on its way to the store. Thank goodness they started imitating the big chain brand pizza stores.

Her eyes were drawn to the drawer on the desk, the one with the false bottom. There hadn’t been a word from their parents all day, and whatever they were doing had something to do with whatever was in that file. She pushed a hand through her hair and grabbed her phone from her pocket. That number had the answers she was looking for, and now was the time to find them.  
Still, she paused to send Raquel a text.

I think I’m gonna call the number from the file. Keep them in there?

It took a moment for her sister to answer, she could hear her making an excuse to Maggie to get up.

Go for it, I’ve got your back. LMK what they say.

Bebe nodded and pulled up the picture, it was time to get answers. She put the number in the address bar of her browser, then put it into her phone. She held her breath as it rang.  
There was a weird sound, and then somebody picked up. It sounded like a man.

“Hello?” he said, voice brisk. “How did you get this number, it should be unlisted.”

“My dad is missing, and I found this number in a file in his desk. Do you know where he is?” He stopped and she could hear the sound of others in the background, an entire group if she could tell properly.

“I’m really sorry, but I think you have the wrong number, you see we-”

“Please, you have to know,” she begged. She silently cursed herself as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. “He left last night with my Uncle Jack and Aunt Miko, and we can’t reach them. They had a bunch of weird stuff in a backpack that they left here...please. I’m scared, and my sister is too. We’re keeping it from their kids, but we need help, if you know anything please tell me…”

They were quiet and she could hear the voices again. After a full minute of waiting, she was ready to hang up.

“Your dad...is his name Rafael?” the voice asked. Bebe nodded, choking back a sob. “You’re Raf Esquivel’s daughter?”

“Yes, that’s my dad,” she whispered. The man at the other end of the phone sighed and she could hear him walking.

“Listen, I’m a friend of your dad’s from a few years back. I can help you, I might know where they are, but I need you to trust me. Where are you right now?”

“I’m at our house, it’s in Quartzton. New Mexico.”

“Alright, I’m an hour or two away from there. How many of you are at the house?”

“Five. My sister and I, and the Darby kids.”

“Okay. I’ll be there soon. I’ll honk twice, and you come out to the yellow Urbana 500 and the blue and white police SUV, alright? Bring everything you need to stay for a few weeks, we’ll take you to a safe place.”

“Did something happen to my dad?” she asked softly. The voice at the other end sighed.

“I think so, yes,” he sighed. “My friends and I are going to help you, but the people who have your dad are after you too. Don’t make any more phone calls, don’t contact anyone no matter what. They have a tracer on Fowler, they’ll find you if you call him. We will be right there.”

“Okay. Okay, yes, we’ll be ready. But…”

“You want to know how you can trust me,” he said. “Your dad...he was a good friend. I promise you, I will help you. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m asking for your trust.”

“...Only a few people still call him Raf. Just close friends. I trust you.”

“Thank you. This will be hard, but once you get in the cars I need you to just relax until we get to our safe spot. We’ll answer all of your questions, but you cannot ask them in the car. Can you do that?”

“I’ll tell the others.”

“Good. What’s your name?”

“I’m Bebe. My sister is Raquel, and the Darby kids are Maggie, Orion, and Rin. We’re at the single story house at the corner of Main Street and Burnt Pine Drive. Please hurry.”

“You did a good job Bebe, my friends and I will be there to help you in just a little bit. If you need any help, call this number again.”

“What’s your name?” she asked, trying to find some way to connect him to her dad. The man hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“You can call me Bee,” he said before the line dropped. Bebe stopped and stared at the phone for a moment before turning back to the rest of the house.

Getting up and walking into the room with the others was hard. She stopped in the door from the hall and watched them for a moment before Maggie noticed her.

“Everything okay?” she asked, grinning. “You look like you saw a ghost. Was the coupon expired or something?”

“...It’s bad news, isn’t it?” Raquel asked. Bebe nodded and gestured everyone over to the sofa. She sat down, Raquel holding her hand on one side and Rin half in her lap on the other. Maggie took the last spot, and Rin took a seat on the floor rather than in the chair. “Bee, talk to us.”

“We have to go,” she said. “The number was a friend of Dad’s, he said that Dad is in trouble. He said he’d explain everything once we were safe, but right now we need to pack some bags and get ready to go. They’ll be here in a couple hours.”

“What’s going on? What kind of trouble?” Maggie asked, leaning over. “Should we call the police?”

“He said that the bad guys who have our parents can trace us. We need to wait for them. I think one of them is in the police, he said a police car is going to be picking us up.”

“Alright, so we need to get ready then,” Raquel decided.

“We don’t have clothes here though,” Orion pointed out softly. “We don’t have anything here.”

“We’ll buy new ones at the safe place, I have the emergency card,” Raquel promised. “Maggie, if you don’t want to buy something you can share with Bebe and I.”

“Are we gonna die?” Rin asked softly. Bebe looked down and hugged him tightly, rubbing his arm.

“No, we aren’t. We’re gonna be fine, I promise.” She stood up and pointed to the homework on the table. “You finish that book, Orion you finish that math. The pizza will be here soon, and then we’ll be going with Dad’s friend.”

“I’ll pack some clothes and get the stuff we should bring,” Raquel offered. “And I can call Mrs. Morrisey to come take care of Omega while we’re gone.” She nodded to herself and moved into action, taking Maggie’s hand to pull her with. Bebe sat down with the boys, taking deep breaths to remain calm.

* * *

Bumblebee led the charge down the highway, mind whirling. Raf had kids now, two daughters. Jack and Miko had kids together, three of them. He could still remember them as kids, now they had them.

“So what’s the plan here?” Sideswipe asked, pulling up next to him. “Are we going to tell these kids what’s going on?”

“They deserve to know, especially since they’re in danger too,” Bumblebee said. “But we will not tell them until after we get back to the junkyard.” He pulled into the next lane over to get around a big rig.

“Will it not look a little suspicious if we all show up?” Drift asked. “I am unsure about the plan.”

“Strongarm and I will go to pick up the kids, while you stay at the outskirts of town. We’ll meet up with you, Strongarm will hitch up to Grimlock again, and we’ll head back to the junkyard. Hopefully Denny and Russel will have everything ready by the time we get there.”

“Windblade will get there in plenty of time to help, though I don’t understand why we can’t use comms yet,” Sideswipe said flippantly.

“Soundwave is a hacker; I don’t want to risk anything more than we have to, so we’re going to radio silence until we’re back at the junkyard again.”

They rode in silence for a while, the miles eaten away under their tires. It was getting late as they pulled up in front of the house Bebe had described to him. Bumblebee honked twice, and the door opened to show five figures standing in the front hall. Two were much taller than the other three, one leading two of the shorter towards Strongarm. He hoped she had her holoform driver up already. The other tallest locked the door, then led the third towards him. She was dragging a suitcase behind her.

All five climbed into the back seats of the cars they got into. Bumblebee looked back at them through his driver, then pulled away from the curb.

“I’m Bebe,” the girl in his backseat introduced herself. “This is Orion.”

“I’m Bee,” he introduced, channeling it through his mouth. “We have a long way to go, you should sleep while you can. I promise, we’ll explain everything later.” He watched them in his rear view mirror, how Orion settled down against Bebe. She didn’t sleep at first, only watched him in the mirror as well. She had the same contemplative look that Raf got, though different. She must take after her mother more; he wondered where she was in all of this.

The drive out of town was uneventful, meeting up with the others and getting onto the interstate to get back to their home. Drift drove in front, Sideswipe behind to guard the rear with Grimlock. They had to protect these kids.


	4. Chapter 4

Bumblebee checked the mirror again, watching Bebe as she slept. He was trying to see Raf in her; they had similar noses, and her hair was the same color. Still, she must take after her mother more.

She wasn't much older than Miko had been back then. The boy with her, Orion, looked to be around the same age range as Raf had been. They were so young, and all of a sudden being pulled into a fight that wasn't theirs. Just like their parents. He wondered if any of the other names were references to Autobots; Orion was obviously named for Optimus, and Maggie seemed to be a decent reference to Ultra Magnus.

“Lieutenant, the littlest human in my backseat is drooling,” Strongarm reported as she pulled up next to him. “How should I get him to stop?”

“We can get Denny or Russel to clean it out later, just let him sleep,” he instructed gently. “How are you holding up?”

“Tired, sir. But I can make it back to base.”

“And the rest of you?”

Various calls to the affirmative echoed from his team, and Bumblebee felt a smile. They fell back into silence, pushing themselves in the quiet hours of the morning to go faster and get back to their home sooner. The sun was just starting to break over the horizon when they pulled into their home.

“Bebe. Orion. Wake up,” he said, trying to be gentle about waking them. It took a little rocking before they stirred, looking at him tiredly. “We’re here. This is a safe place, nobody can hurt you while you're here.”

“I thought this was all a bad dream,” Bebe muttered as she climbed out. Orion followed, dragging the suitcase, and they went to stand with their siblings. Denny and Russel came out of the diner with cautious smiles.

“You must be the Esquivels and the Darbys,” Denny grinned. “My name’s Denny Clay, and this is my son Russel.”

“Nice to meet you,” Russel smiled at them. The kids all nodded, wary of the strangers.

“We’re sorry to hear about your parents,” Denny continued. “But our friends here will get them back, I promise. Did they...explain everything?”

“Not yet Denny, we wanted to wait until everyone was here. Where are Fixit and Windblade?”

“Right here sir!” Fixit called, trundling into view. Windblade was right behind him, and all five children stared in awe at the giant robot walking alongside the smaller one.

* * *

Bebe couldn't believe her eyes. She had to be dreaming, she would just wake up in a few minutes to her dad shaking her awake and apologizing for being late. That was all.

Raquel reached over and pinched her arm, eyes still locked on the robots. “It's not a dream,” she murmured.

There was the sound of a sheet falling away, and a robot T-Rex stepped off the cart behind the police car. It waved at them, grinning, and Bebe could only watch as Rin waved back shyly.

“I'm guessing your parents never told you about how they all met,” Bee said from inside the car. She took a step back in surprise as the car transformed into a yellow robot with wings. All the cars did, the police car having similar wings to the yellow, the orange car looking like a samurai, and the red car grinning at them. “My name is Bumblebee. This is my team. We’re here to protect you.”

“...What?!” Raquel yelped, taking a step back. She pulled Orion with her, pushing him behind her and her sister. Bebe grabbed Rin and did the same.

“Cool!” Maggie gasped, taking a few steps forward. “Hi! I'm Maggie!”

The yel-Bumblebee knelt and held out a hand to her, letting her shake his finger. “It's nice to meet you Maggie. It's nice to meet all of you, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“How did you know our parents? Are they robots too? Are we robots?!”

“No, nothing like that,” he laughed softly. “You certainly take after Miko though. No, I met your parents years ago, back when I was a scout. It's a long story, maybe we should sit down?”

“I've got breakfast ready,” Denny agreed with a smile. He led them to the diner, letting them sit at one of the tables near the empty windows while he and Russel hurried to get plates. Bebe could smell eggs and bacon, and all their stomachs growled on cue.

“Why do you know our parents?” Orion asked quietly. He was half hiding behind his sister as Bumblebee sat down in front of them on the other side of the wall.

“Well first, I should explain who we are. We’re Autobots, from the planet Cybertron.” The others all gathered around, sitting like Bumblebee. “This is Strongarm,” the police car, “Sideswipe,” the red sports car, “Drift and his minicons, Slipstream and Jetstorm,” the samurai popped two circles off his arms and they transformed into smaller robots, “Windblade,” the first robot they saw, “Grimlock,” the dinosaur, “and Fixit,” the little orange robot.

“Why are you here? What does this have to do with Mom and Dad, and Uncle Raf?” Rin asked.

“Millions of years ago, our planet was at war,” Bumblebee explained. “Autobots fought against Decepticons. At one point, our planet died and everyone scattered to the stars. I ended up here with our leader, Optimus Prime, and a few others. The Decepticon leader, Megatron, was here too.

“Your dad, Jack Darby, met my friend Arcee. The Decepticons thought he was our ally, so they tried to kill him. They managed to get to a safe place to fight, and when I showed up I met him and Raf. And when it was time to bring them to our base for protection, Miko tagged along. They became our friends, our family. They helped us win the war, saving both our planets.”

“Our parents?” Maggie asked, eyes wide. “I knew they were so much cooler than they let on!” Bumblebee laughed softly.

“Breakfast is served!” Denny announced, leading Russel out with trays balanced in hand. “We made plenty, so don't be afraid to eat what you want!”

Bebe took a plate of eggs and toast, grimacing as her hands shook on the dish. Raquel reached over and steadied it, helping her get it to the table without spilling. She felt a rush of gratitude that her sister could handle this much so easily, it was a relief to her system.

“So you knew our dad back then...how come he never mentioned you?” Raquel asked, pointing at Bee with a forkful of eggs. Bumblebee smiled sadly and glanced to where Denny and Russel were settling a table over.

“When the war ended, I had to go back to Cybertron. I guess your parents wanted to move on, but I know they never forgot us.”

“How do you know?” Rin asked before taking a large bite.

“They named your siblings, and I would wager you as well, for some of our friends.” Bumblebee looked over them all with a small smile. “Orion was Optimus’ name before he became a Prime. Maggie sounds like something Miko would have called Ultra Magnus.”

“Bumblebee and Bebe,” Orion added. The robot looked at her in surprise and Bebe only shrugged. “Two bs.”

“Unless there was also a Raquel and a Rin, you might be a bit off,” Maggie pointed out.

“But my middle name is Chihiko, remember?” Rin piped up. “Without our last name, I'm RC.”

“...I never noticed that,” Maggie admitted. Bumblebee smiled.

“That sounds like Miko too. She was clever like that.”

“So I'm the only one not named for an alien robot? Not cool dad!” Raquel joked, trying to make it lighter.

“Actually, I used the Internet to look up your name,” Strongarm interjected. “It's the Spanish form of the name Rachel, and that's only two letters away from Ratchet. He was the medic for Team Prime.”

“Raf was close to Ratchet too,” Bumblebee nodded.

“So what happened to them?” Bebe asked. The mood instantly dropped, along with the wings on Bumblebee’s back.

“At the end of the war,” he explained softly, “your parents helped in the final push to save Earth. They fought Soundwave, one of the most dangerous Decepticons there was. They managed to trap him in the Shadowzone, a place between reality. Two days ago, Soundwave escaped. I would guess that your parents went to stop him before he gained power, but were captured again. Soundwave wasn't alone in this, and we don't know what he's planning. What we do know, is he's allied himself with a group called MECH that wants to rule the world, and that they have your parents.”

“They're still alive?” Bebe asked softly. Bumblebee nodded and she felt herself sinking into relief. “I knew it wasn't likely, but the thought of them dying…”

“I would guess that this MECH group has something they need them for,” Drift mused. The others all turned to look at him. “If they are being kept alive, they must have something the villains want. Otherwise they wouldn't have been taken prisoner in the first place.”

“So what do we do now?” Raquel asked. “How do we find them?”

“You five are staying here,” Bumblebee said, looking at them all sternly. “We will find your parents, and stop Soundwave and MECH. Until we do, it's safer for you to stay here, with Denny, Russel, and Fixit.”

“But they're our family!” Maggie protested. “We want to help save them!”

“In this case, the best help you can give is to be safe,” Denny advised. He leaned over the back of their seat and put a hand on her shoulder. “From a parent’s perspective, I’d much rather Russel stay away from the fighting.”

“We can provide support from here,” Russel offered. “Dad and I still help, we just have to stay away from the fighting.” Maggie still looked ready to protest, Raquel shaking her head and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Fine,” Bebe agreed. “We’ll stay out of the way. We just...we want our family back.”

“We’ll get them back, I promise,” Bumblebee said. “For now, you all just eat and get settled in. I’ll keep you updated on everything, and once we can be sure it's safe we’ll contact Fowler and bring him back in too. You wouldn't happen to know where June Darby is, would you?”

“With Grandpa Fowler,” Rin said. “They're on a trip for their twelfth anniversary.” Bumblebee looked surprised for a moment, then laughed.

“I'll have to give Smokescreen his payment when I get back to Cybertron, we had a bet on that.” He composed himself after a moment and nodded. “Thank you. And thank you for trusting us, I know it's a big thing to ask of strangers.”

“Thank you for helping us,” Raquel smiled up at him. Bumblebee stared for a moment, eyes soft, then offered them all a hand. Bebe put hers in his palm, followed by the others.

“I'm glad your parents are all happy.”


End file.
